After clearing waivers with the Rockies, will Brad Hawpe be traded? (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

LOS ANGELES — As predicted, Brad Hawpe cleared waivers today, a procedural move that has set the stage for the Rockies to release Hawpe either tonight or tomorrow. Hawpe was owed roughly $2 million on his contract, a figure no team wanted to pay.

Hawpe told the Post that he is prepared for this to be his last game with the Rockies.

“It’s a business. All players go thorugh this,” Hawpe said today.

The most likely scenario is that he’s given his outright release either after the game or before tomorrrow’s game. Reliever Matt Reynolds is expected to be called up. The Texas Rangers are among the teams interested in Hawpe.

“He has been very special player for this organization. It’s difficult to even talk about given the respect I have for Brad,” manager Jim Tracy said. “I am dealing with a player that understands what it is that’s going on and what has to take place.”

Hawpe, 31, also attracted interest from the White Sox last month. And the Rays and Red Sox could be potential fits. In talking to league executives today, they see the Rangers and White Sox making more sense. But Chicago’s interest could hinge on Manny Ramirez. The White Sox explored trading for Ramirez last month, and he’s expected to be placed on waivers soon.

Cutting ties with Hawpe would create more playing time for Seth Smith and allow roster flexibility to keep Eric Young Jr. in the mix. There’s no deadline for a move, but resolution is likely to happen soon. The Rockies are operating with just six relievers after Taylor Buchholz went on the disabled list with a strained back.

There has been no movement in Triple-A regarding a promotion as of 2:45 mountain time. Reynolds is a possible call-up given his strong performance for the Sky Sox this season.

Hawpe has been reduced to a part-time player since the all-star break, hitting .175 with two home runs. Popular among teammates and viewed as a leader, Hawpe has been disappointed in his reduced role, but hasn’t complained publicly. He still could interest some suitors because of his ability to play both first base and right field.

While he has regressed defensively in right field, he’s still functional. And Hawpe has surprised scouts with how comfortable he has looked in six starts at first base, a position he hasn’t played since early in the minor leagues.

“He’s been a class act. A model teammate,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “He could have pouted, but he hasn’t said a word. He’s a pro.”

Rockies have such a strong “Family” vibe to them that things like this seem to happen. Hawpe should’ve been traded at the top of his game.

Do Rox fan’s want wins or do they want “friends” on the team. I actually think it’s hard to tell

Guest

“Hawpe should’ve been traded at the top of his game.”

Hawpe was the lone Rockies position player in the All Star game a little over a year ago. In fact, he was inches away from hitting the game winning HR and probably being selected as the MVP in that game. In the second half of the season, he slumped badly and it has continued through this year.

Trading him “at the top of his game” would have meant trading him immediately after the All Star break last year. I’m sure the Rockies wish they had the psychic ability to have been able to predict his decline. If so, I don’t think any “family vibe” would have prevented them from trading him. But there’s no way they could have expected a guy who routinely bats around .300 with 90+ RBI and 20+ HR to suddenly fall off a cliff. In Hawpe’s case, it’s especially true because he has always been very, very streaky. But he still ends up with his numbers in the end.

I can imagine the backlash if they had traded him during the offseason and he had hit .315 with 95 RBI and 25 HR for a team that makes the playoffs or WS this year. And there was really no reason to think that he couldn’t do that, at the time. Most fans would be talking about how the Monforts were just being cheap in letting him go.

When you say “things like this seem to happen”, I can only guess that you see this situation as being similar to what happened with Garrett Atkins. It is. He also went from being a consistent outstanding run producer to a guy who can’t hit – without warning or explanation. It happened so fast that there was no way to predict it, and it was too late to do anything about it by the time it was obvious it wasn’t just a slump. Again, if the Rockies could have known it was coming, he would have been traded “at the top of his game” and the fans would have approved, I’m sure.

It boils down to the fact that nobody can know when a player is at the top of his game. Tulo and CarGo and Ubaldo are pretty darn good right now. Are they at the top of their games? Should they be traded? The answer is yes if they suddenly go into a sharp decline next year and don’t recover. But how can anyone know that’s coming?

Johnny Maloney

Ditto, ACSGuitar!

And if they’re not careful, the Rox are going to end up with more dead weight on their roster with Stewart and Ianetta, two more underachievers, but “home grown” like Hawpe.

Hurf

You’re right on ACSGuitar but I think it’s more of being a member of the “congregation”. It’s the same reason Chris Ianetta has hung around so long. The same for Iain Stewart and maybe even Seth Smith. Faith plays such a strong part in the Rockies that I think it blinds them. Don’t even get me started with how long Tracy stays with his pitchers……

Katy

I have enjoyed watching Hawpe play as a Rockie and I will support him with whatever team picks him up. My best wishes go out to him!

Guest

Hawpe should’ve been traded in the offseason, plain and simple. And replying to the Guest post above, Rockies fans wouldn’t have been angry if this happened – not intelligent fans anyway. Hawpe was useless in the 2nd half last year and was barely used in the playoffs. He was rumored to be on the trading block all winter long so fans were prepared for it to happen. I expected to happen. It didn’t, but it should have. We’d at least have something to show for it. Instead he’s going to head to playoffs on one team or another, while the Rockies are likely to be sitting at home, so don’t feel too bad for Brad.

Hawper always has been a good guy to be sure, but also per the Guest post above anyone who perceives him as a player who “routinely bats around .300 with 90+ RBI and 20+ HR” clearly hasn’t looked at his actual stats. He’s only topped 90 RBI once, has a career avg of .280 (only topped .290 twice in six years as a full time player) and based on UZR was one of the worst-fielding OF in MLB over the past several years (even taking ballpark factors into account: http://bit.ly/1NfbVj). He didn’t “fall off a cliff,” he’s pretty much the same player he’s always been if you take 2007 out of the equation. What fell off the cliff was the Rox’ capabilities in RF once Larry Walker began to fade. It’s only now become glaringly obvious that this is a problem if the team wants to perennially contend.

Steveingj

It’s a drag to see Brad Hawpe go. It was hard to see his hitting ability disappear for extended periods. Maybe a new scene will revive his game. If he figures it out he could really help a team. At least he did things with class and professionalism. Perhaps some of our favorite NBA stars could learn something from his example.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.